Satara: Union Agriculture Minister and NCP chief Sharad Pawar on Wednesday launched fresh salvo at Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan over his act of having lunch with farmers under a tree in Satara.

"The problems (like drought) won't be resolved by sitting under a tree and eating `thecha'(Thecha is a type of green chilli-garlic chutney),” Pawar said while expressing displeasure over the state government’s attitude in handling of the drought.

"We should ensure how to speed up work in the drought-affected areas," Pawar said during his two-day visit to drought-hit Satara (part of his Madha Lok Sabha constituency).

Earlier on Sunday, Chavan had lunched with labourers engaged in tasks like digging wells during his visit to his home district of Satara to review drought relief work.

He said that he had also requested the Governor K Sankaranarayanan to visit the drought-affected areas of the state.

NCP, a part of the ruling Congress-led government in the state and at the Centre as well, is miffed with Chavan since July 2011, when Chavan had said giving the key Home portfolio to NCP was a ‘mistake’.

Shiv Sena slams Chavan

Shiv Sena mouthpiece 'Saamana' termed Chavan’s act a farce and a poor imitation of Rahul Gandhi's famous meals with the poor.